How to File a COBRA Complaint

By Kate Bruscke

Thomas Northcut/Digital Vision/Getty Images

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, is a federal law that provides the unemployed the ability to continue healthcare coverage in their previous plan for a limited amount of time. Although COBRA is a federal mandate, it is managed and overseen by individual states through their Department of Health or Department of Insurance. If you want to file a grievance or complaint regarding your COBRA coverage (or denial of service), you must contact the insurance company and your state’s office.

Contact the customer service department of the insurance company that administers your COBRA plan. Each company has a process for filing complaints. Some companies will take verbal complaints, whereas other companies require a written form or letter.

Connect with your local Department of Health or Department of Insurance to find out their process for filing complaints. The Minnesota Department of Health, for example, has an online form that you can email or print and mail to their office.

Write or call the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which handles COBRA provisions and complaints: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Mail Stop C1-22-06 Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 1-877-267-2323, extension 61565 Depending on your complaint, this office will likely not handle the complaint, but you can request that your complaint be placed on file.

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About the Author

A writer and professional lab assistant based in Seattle, Kate Bruscke has been writing professionally about health care and technology since 1998. Her freelance clients include "The Seattle Times," KGB.com, Reading Local: Seattle, Nordstrom and MSN/Microsoft. Bruscke holds a Master of Fine Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.